Verge of Mentality
by animeduchess14
Summary: Rated T for cussing; After Sasori's death, the Akatsuki leader keeps tabs on the kunoichi and brings her into the Akatsuki, forcing her to go against her village. She learns unexpected things from the members, and learns they do care deep down inside about her. What will happen after the agreement is over though? *bad summary lol* AkaSaku Sakucentric


Chapter 1:

"Zetsu. Summon Itachi and Kisame." "Hai." The eerie, personality-split man disappeared into the floor. Frustration was the only emotion Pein felt at the moment, but of course he never showed it. He tapped his fingers against his neatly, organized desk. He wanted _answers_. The leader lifted his head from his paperwork when he heard a light knock at the door. "Come in." The door opened to reveal Uchiha Itachi and his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame.

They took their respective seats in front of their Leader's desk. Their 'Leader-sama' looked seemly pissed, and they knew that because he was tapping his fingers on his desk. "As you know, a certain Konoha _kunoichi_ 'killed' Sasori." The emphasis he used on 'kunoichi' was filled with hate, a deep one too. He turned his head to the window on his left, it was pouring down. Once he returned his gaze to the two, he asked a simple question. "I assume you know of this kunoichi?"

Itachi nodded, "Haruno Sakura." Pein sighed, an often occurrence lately. Kisame looked at his partner and back to Pein, he had no idea who this kunoichi was. "So, do you want us to kill her or something?" A smirk slowly appeared on Pein's face. "No. I have something else in mind." Kisame slumped back in his chair, no longer interested. "What exactly do you infer then?" Itachi's question, brought up many ideas to mind, but he already planned this out."She is the Godaime's apprentice, and holds valuable information on Konohagakure. She's also good friends with the Kyuubi."

Itachi knew exactly what he was planning. "So you intend to make her a hostage?" Pein shifted his eyes to the scroll on his desk, it was the mission summary. "And medic." He tossed the scroll to Itachi, who quickly read over it, and then handed it to Kisame. "Understood," Itachi said as his partner continued reading it. "Oh, and don't break her Kisame. I need her intact." The only reply he received was a simple smirk and nod. "Dismissed."

The two took their leave without another word spoken. "What do you plan to do Pein," A man adorning an orange mask slowly drifted to the desk from one of the office's poorly lit corners. "Haruno will be a pawn to us. She wouldn't want her precious _Naruto_ to be killed in front of her, would she?" He couldn't see, but the masked man had the same diabolical grin plastered on his face as the man in front of him. "Blackmail, huh?"

Pein tapped his fingers against his desk again, the only habit he displays often besides sighing. "Call it what you want, she will dearly regret if she doesn't cooperate." "What will make her cooperate _easily_ is the question." Tobi sat in front of the emotionless man, and pondered in thought. "A simple lie or two will do. After we play her, she will gain our trust." The two men sat in thought, and seemed to have a conversation telepathically.

"What lie?" Pein stopped tapping his fingers. He thought that _Madara_ would have caught on by now. "That we won't interfere with Konoha, and will back off the Kyuubi, for some time." "Do you really think that she will believe us though?" A small laugh escaped from Pein. "Once I'm through with her, she will be on the verge of her mentality, her insanity. She'll feel guilt knowing she's gone against her precious village. She's a loyal kunoichi, with many ties to that village, and we will sever them one by one."

Madara was surprised at the least that Pein showed emotion during his explanation. "Using her emotions against her? I like it. Ja ne." The man stood up and disappeared after he waved goodbye. The Leader felt confident about his plan. The only thing he didn't like was the fact that he would have to bring his own emotions into this if it was going to work. "Haruno Sakura." He continued working on his paperwork. "What a pleasure."

_*With Itachi and Kisame*_

The two had already left the base the second they received their new mission. Zetsu had informed them of her most recent location, and they were a few seconds away from the spot. "I don't see why Leader-sama wants this kunoichi so bad. She's just a chunin." As usual, Itachi only replied with an 'hn', to which Kisame was accustomed to. When they reached the spot, they felt a faint chakra signature about 20 feet ahead.

Long and behold, the kunoichi they were looking for was sitting under a tree, with her back propped against it. Her eyes were closed, and she looked almost..dead. Blood was slowly traveling down the side of her mouth, and dripped down her neck. She had one hand in her pack, the other on the ground. "Is she even conscious," Kisame mumbled. "Barely." The Uchiha was next to her in a flash.

With a closer view, he noticed the bruises all over her body, which he guessed happened recently. "N-naruto," the kunoichi shakily said as she barely lifted her arm, which dropped instantly when Itachi put his hand on the back of her neck and pressed a pressure point. The pink haired girl was out cold in the Uchiha's arms. "Heh, she didn't even put up a fight," Kisame grinned at his partner, who just ignored him. The two retraced their steps back to the base, rushing through the trees in silence, but not before Itachi put chakra restraints on her arms, despite the fact she didn't even have a fourth of her chakra left. "Are you sure this is Haruno, Itachi?" The raven haired man nodded. He confirmed that there were no chakra signatures within a 100 mile radius, masked or un-masked, and Sakura's was the only one, since she obviously hadn't hidden hers.

They made it back to the base in three hours. The quiet trio made their way down the winding, poorly lit hallways, with Sakura in Itachi's arms. She'd at least be unconscious for another five hours, if not more, giving them plenty of time. They knocked on the Leader's door, and entered. Itachi dropped her on the concrete ground next to his chair. "That was unexpectedly fast." "She was on the verge of unconsciousness when we found her," Itachi noted. "I see. Leave her here for the time being. Dismissed." "Hai." The two left in unison, not taking another look at the kunoichi they just captured. They would be seeing her a lot more later.

Pein looked down at Sakura for a second, and then to Zetsu who appeared not a second later. "Summon him." Zetsu looked down at the unconscious pinkette. He wanted to eat her on the spot, but that wouldn't make his Leader too happy. With a quick nod, he disappeared into the floor again. Not a minute later, the person he summoned appeared in his office, happy to see the kunoichi. "You know where to take her." The person nodded, and picked Sakura, leaving with an apparent smile their face.

Once they reached the designated hostage/interrogation room, the person dropped Sakura's lifeless body on the ground, and set her up against the west wall and chained her arms to the wall above her head, and also chained her feet together. "Haruno Sakura, how I've waited for this day." The person left the room, leaving the kunoichi almost chakra depleted, not to mention her three broken ribs as well.

_*6 hours later; Sakura's POV*_

A sharp pain in my neck and side caused me to awake. I instantly went into medic-mode and tried to heal myself, but I couldn't. I looked around the around, and felt sudden movements from the poorly lit corner. The last memory I had was being split up with Naruto and Sai-teme, and getting beat to a bloody pulp from some missing nin. Now I was in some sort of dungeon or something. "Ah, Haruno. Nice to see you again."

That voice, it sounded so familiar. The figure slowly revealed itself, which sent a sudden shiver down my back. "H-how?" _Red_ hair, that _voice_, that _cloak_. "I….I killed you 6 months ago!" The figure laughed at my frantic state. "I'm glad you remembered me, Sa-ku-ra." With each syllable said, he took a step closer to _his_ prisoner, _me_. "W-what's going on? I demand you let me go you sick bastard!" He tilted his head in amusement, and walked ever so closely to me. "You're not really in the position to demand things from me, are you?" I stared at him and his un-amused glare.

"What do you want from me, Sasori?" If I had my chakra, I swear I would punch him right in the jaw, he was getting to close for comfort, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. I remember him all right. That body of his was different. He was _human_. But he still had that idiotic look on his face, that made me want to punch it in. "What I want and what I allowed to do are two different things, _little kunoichi_."

Ok, now I'm panicking. It's best if I keep my calm, I'm not planning on dying in _his_ hands. "Silent treatment Sakura, really?" He stood about a foot away from me. I looked away from his glare, turning my head to the left. "If you act respectfully, you might get out of here faster, kunoichi." "Fine." The man, who I thought I had killed, _smiled_ at me. "I'm glad you're on speaking terms with me, Haruno. I'll be back, whenever." He waved a dismissing hand at me, and left the room before I could respond. I couldn't let him intrigue me. But I had to comply with him, if I wanted to get the hell out of here. The question that came to mind was, where _is_ 'here'?

Memories of Team 7 with Naruto, Sai-teme, and Kakashi-sensei filled my head, forcing tears to roll down my cheek. About a day ago, all four of us were enjoying ramen, now here I am, alone, crying with no regard to stop either. I couldn't wipe them away, since my arms were chained above my head, and numb. I started to sob tears, which I promised myself I wouldn't let out again. After Naruto _just_ came back with training, I wanted him to see that I was strong, and clearly I wasn't. I had let myself get captured by him, by Sasori.

Am I in the Akatsuki base then? Fear jolted through my body. I would surely be killed, if not today then tomorrow. There were so many things I still wanted to accomplish. Be promoted to jounin or even ANBU, find _true_ love, have a family, travel to other shinobi countries, and get rid of all the hate in this world. My bucket list was seemly crumbling before my eyes. I wouldn't even live to turn fifteen. My birthday was two months away.

I'd never get to see _Naruto_ or _Tsunade-sama_ or _Ino-pig_. Not unless I put up a fight. Without my chakra, I was practically a civilian. I may have had high marks in the academy, but that wasn't going to help me now, I needed physical strength. As much as I wanted to not think about it, I was practically sealed in my new fate, dead or a slave to the _Akatsuki_. When they teach you about missing nin in the academy, they make sure you understand that they usually aren't friendly, and are dangerous…for a reason.

I tried to pull myself together when I heard the door crack open, but the tears were locked away for too long. It wasn't Sasori, I could tell. It was an orange masked man, carrying a tray of food. He rushed over to me, setting the tray on the floor, and promptly took a seat next to me. "Aww! Why is pretty flower crying?" Was he in the Akatsuki? He did have the cloak on, but he sure as hell wasn't acting like one. I didn't answer him, because frankly I didn't understand what was going on. He but his hand on my cheek and wiped away some of my tears. "Tobi's name is Tobi! What's your name pretty flower?" I stuttered, "H-haruno S-sakura."

He gasped, "Tobi loves Sakura-chan's name!" The second he said 'Sakura-chan' I thought back to Naruto, causing me to cry heavily. He just came back, and now I was gone, like Sauske. "Aww don't cry Sakura-chan! Tobi is a good boy! Aren't you hungry?" I shifted my head to his direction and slightly nodded. "Say 'ahh'." Without questioning, and not caring if it was poisoned, I just opened my mouth as he fed me.

He conversed about his 'Deidara-sempai' being a 'meanie' for blowing him up the other day and tried to comfort me in a way. His goofy, down-to-earth personality reminded me of Naruto so much, it hurt. After I finished eating, he held a small cup of decent looking water to my mouth, that I graciously took sips from. "Thank you, Tobi," was the only thing I could think to say to him. He patted my head. "Tobi is glad he helped Sakura-chan! Bye Sakura-chan!" He waved goodbye and quickly picked up the empty tray and cup before taking his leave.

If he fed me, maybe I won't die, at least not today. But would I honestly want to live, without Konoha? After a silent hour by myself, Sasori returned for a short visit. "Were you crying Haruno?" Was it that loud..and obvious? I looked down at my feet, "Y-yes." He _laughed_. "What happened to the kunoichi that killed me?" I couldn't have killed him without Chiyo, I wasn't strong enough. I didn't reply, which annoyed him.

"How _are_ you alive?" He clearly was a human now, but how? "Why would I tell you such information?" It was quiet for awhile. "Just wondering," I mumbled. He turned around, bored with me I assumed, almost to the door. "W-wait!" He turned around slightly. "What?" "C-could you at least tell me where I am?" He turned around again. "You'll see soon enough." He opened the door and left, slamming the door behind him. The pain in my neck and side felt _horrible_, but as a medic-nin I knew I would live (if they didn't kill me), plus I've inflicted worse pain upon myself, to heal for practice. Tsunade-sama must be pissed that they can't find me. 'Please, save me Naruto.' I fell asleep, not wanting to remind myself of those painful memories. If I didn't get back to Konoha, I'd be considered a missing-nin, or worse, _dead_.

_*3 days later*_

Tobi was the only one who fed me. Sasori periodically checked on me, even though all he did was try to provoke me claiming I was 'weak', to which I did not respond. But today, was different. A new face appeared. One I didn't ever want to see, because it would clearly be a death wish. The Akatsuki's mysterious leader, Pein. The two inched closer to me, and knew I clearly was frightened. "Sasori." "Hai." The red headed teme kept quiet as he unchained me, and picked me up to follow Pein, since I couldn't walk. We followed Pein though the hallway mazes, until we reached a room. An office?

Sasori set me in one the chairs and left the room, leaving me _alone_ with Pein. He stared at me intently, so I just looked around the dull room until he spoke. "I presume you're wondering why you're here, Haruno-san." I looked back at him and slightly nodded. "We simply need a medic." He said it so calm, I wasn't sure he was serious. I looked back to my feet, speechless on how to reply. "I'm sure you don't want to go back to that room, Haruno-san." Ok, now he was serious. He threatened me, to go back to that awful place.

"Why would I be _your_ medic?" He started to tap his fingers against his desk. "Because, I have an offer." My eyebrow was twitching, what the hell did he mean by that? "Offer?" He nodded slightly, "The Akatsuki will back off Konoha and the Kyuubi, I mean Naruto, for three years, if and only you remain loyal and agree." When he mentioned Naruto I almost cried..almost. "How can I trust you, after all you've done?" He smirked, "You don't really have an option do you?" 'Damnit.' "F-fine, I accept." I looked back down to my feet, unsure to what I agreed to. "Good. I knew you were a reasonable kunoichi. Deidara will show you to your room." As if on cue, a tall, blonde man entered the room. 'He's Sasori's partner.'

"We will discuss other matters soon, Haruno-san. Deidara." He nodded, and picked me up, just like Sasori. I looked away from his glare when we left his office. "So you're the kunoichi that killed Sasori no danna." 'Danna?' I simply nodded my head. These hallways seemed forever winding, leading to numerous rooms. When we reached one of the doors, he opened it, and carefully set me on the bed, as if I was a doll or something.

The only source of light was the small window (which I couldn't climb through unfortunately), until he turned the lights on. The room was….large, bigger than my own apartment it seemed like. It had its own bathroom, closet, desk, dresser, and obviously bed. "I'll get you later for dinner" "Arigatou." He nodded and finally I was alone. I managed to barely lift my legs on the bed. With the seemingly gone chakra I had, I used it to heal my legs, so I could at least walk.

I walked over to my now new closet, to find it already filled with a new wardrobe, like they expected me to agree. Ino-pig would've had a heart attack, being the materialistic girl she was. I quickly picked out an outfit, not really caring as long as it was clean, and rushed to the bathroom, which was stocked too. 'Jeez, is the Akatsuki rich or something?'

The bathroom probably cost more than all of my paychecks combined, with a marble shower and sink. I quickly took a shower, disgusted with my hair and changed into the new outfit, which fit me perfectly. 'I wonder if they grabbed my pack.' I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked pale, more than I ever was beforehand, and sickly. I needed some _sun_. I dried my hair, and brushed it when I sat back on the bed, which by the way was king-sized.

I didn't know what they were playing at. It seemed like they were trying to treat me like I _wasn't _a prisoner, which scared me a bit. I never wanted to go back to _that_ room, especially if this was my new one. Eventually, I layed on my stomach, and fell asleep from boredom, that is until a certain man shook me awake. "Sakura-chan wake up! Wake up!" The overly excited man was jumping up and down on my bed, since it was big enough for three adults to sleep on.

"T-tobi?" "Hai! Tobi was told to take Sakura-chan to dinner by Deidara-sempai! Can you walk Sakura-chan?" When I nodded, he gasped and grabbed my hand, making me almost stumble to the ground. We fled through the hallways, and I was quite impressed with myself that I didn't trip either. Suddenly, I felt quite a few chakra signatures. One belonged to a person I _really _didn't ever want to see again, Sasori.

Tobi was pulling me so fast, I couldn't see where I was going, and ended up pushing someone. Of course, because of my size, the person (who was super tall) didn't budge. "Who the fuck are you?" I lifted my head up to see a rather pissed off man with silver slicked back hair and violet eyes, but he appeared no more than twenty-something. "Hidan! It's not nice to cuss in front of ladies," Tobi pouted, instantly pulling me away from the man. "Fuck you Tobi," the man nonchalantly replied before sitting down at the extremely large and long oak table.

Since Tobi was in front of me, I couldn't really see past him, so I moved next to him. I only recognized Deidara, Uchiha Itachi, and Sasori. "Oi! Pinky's awake!" Where have I seen this man before? I think his name was Kisame, I think. "Sakura-chan are you ok?" Tobi was waving his hand over my dazed eyes. I snapped out of it and looked over at him. "Huh? Oh, um yeah." Tobi pulled out a chair for me, claiming he was a 'good boy' and we both sat down next to each other. Luckily I had one of the end seats, so I was only sitting next to him, but I could still visibly see the other members, as could they.

There were two mid twenty-looking women in the elaborate kitchen cooking. 'Yup, they are rich.' "So this is the new medic," the man with stitches said. "Uh, h-hai." "Name's Kakuzu, kunoichi." "H-haruno Sakura."I gained the courage to steal a glance at him, but only for a second. If anyone scared me at the table, it would be Sauske's brother, Itachi. Just being in his presence made me want to strangle myself. The guys just continued talking (more like yelling in some cases) about missions, bounties, people they wanted to kill, and of course women (despite the fact I was still present).

When the women served us dinner, they scurried away to the kitchen again, obviously frightened of their employers. It was so uncomfortable, just sitting here, _eating_ with the frikin' _Akatsuki_. A part of me told me to run away, but the other told me to keep calm, which I did, for the most part. The dinner itself was amazing, one of the best I've had. I offered one of the ladies my help to wash the dishes, but she politely insisted that it was their job and gave thanks anyways.

As I made my way into one of the hallways, I attempted to retrace my steps back to my room. "Ya lost pinky?" I looked up to see a giant shark-man in front of me, and realized it was Kisame, so I nervously nodded. He put a guiding hand on my shoulder (which freaked me out at first) and showed me a shortcut to my room. "Arigatou, Kisame-san." He dropped his hand away from my shoulder. "Yeah, no problem pinky." He walked away, yawning, with a small grin on his face. Once you get past the skin and teeth, I guess he wasn't so bad. At least I can moderately trust two people around here now.

When I opened my door, I almost shrieked, because a man (plant-like actually) came up from my floor and appeared in front of me. "Leader-sama has summoned you." "Huh?" He pulled me by him, and we disappeared….through the FLOOR? The next second I opened my eyes I was sitting in a chair in Pein's office. "What the-?" "Haruno-san, I would like to discuss our agreement and your role in the Akatsuki. Please refer to me as Leader-sama." I shakily nodded,"H-hai." That man still scared me shitless. "I see you met some of the other members." Was he trying to small talk? "Something like that," I muttered. I bit my lip nervously. "Good. I'll give you their medical records tomorrow." "H-hai."

He started to tap his fingers against his desk, just like last time. "Now….about our agreement. You will reside as the Akatsuki's personal medic, and we will prepare an infirmary and lab for you. You may at some point in time be deployed on a mission, if necessary." The only thing I could reply was, you guessed it, "Hai." I made sure to give an emphasis on that one, making sure he knew I wasn't just doting (sp?) off.

He handed me a neatly folded cloak and ring that set on top of it. It was a light blue color, and had the kanji sign for 'heal' in the middle. 'How original…' "How old are you Haruno-san?" I thought this guy knew everything? I was a bit thrown off from the question, but answered quickly. "Almost fifteen, Leader-sama." He lightly nodded, "I see. Deidara was the youngest member at 19, but you're not even fifteen yet." He paused in thought. "Report to me if necessary. I don't want members to harassing the medic." He..cared about me? "Arigatou, Leader-sama." He stopped tapping his fingers, and seemed irritated.

"Zetsu." The plant like man appeared out of nowhere beside me, causing me to jump a bit. "Show Sakura back to her room." Did he just say my name? Zetsu nodded and I followed him cautiously as we walked through the eerie hallways. "The infirmary needs a few more things, and then it will be stocked. When it's finished, a member will escort you there, _**little kunoichi**_." Did his personality just change? "Uh, hai."

We continued walking through the hallways in silence, which didn't help my nerves at all. When I recognized my door, I thanked him and he disappeared into the ground. I quickly ran to my door and shut it quietly, then proceeded to plop on my giant bed. I examined the ring and put it on, perfect fit. I tried on my cloak as well, also a perfect fit. 'Did they measure me or something?' I shuddered at the image of one of _them_ touching _me_. "Oh Kami-sama, what have I gotten myself into this time?"

_(A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please R&R! Don't worry; I'm still writing my other three stories, I just got back from a vacation! :D Arigatou! ^^)_

_Also: I listened to these songs the whole time I was typing lol XD_

watch?v=bXUgqke58kw&feature=related

watch?v=1lzYadA9K-U&feature=related

watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=4d7zeEhKvck


End file.
